Shakopee

History

Native Americans inhabited the area. Burial mounds along the Minnesota River bluff, within the present-day Veterans Memorial Park, are between 500 and 2,000 years old. Nicollet referred to the "Village of the Six", a permanent Dakota village south of the river, as acting as a boundary to the Ojibwe, but historians have since situated it east of the present downtown. He noted the village and locality was commonly called the "village of the prairie" (tinta ottonwe). The Shakopee band lived in summer bark lodges and winter tipis. They followed the changes of the seasons in planting cornfields. In 1851, Thomas A. Holmes established a trading post west of the Dakota and platted Shakopee Village in 1854, named after Chief Shakopee II. The city quickly grew, incorporating in 1857. It surrendered its charter in 1861 due to conflicts in the Dakota War. As tensions lifted, the city incorporated again in 1870. The western end retained township status and was renamed Jackson Township in 1861, likely after President Andrew Jackson.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of ; is land and is water. U.S. Highway 169 and County Highway 101 are two of Shakopee's main routes. Highway 169 and nearby State Highway 13 connect Shakopee to the rest of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul region. County Highway 101 serves as a major east–west connector route of historic downtown Shakopee.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  68,784
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  61,504
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  57,626
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  56,579
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  51,371
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  50,196
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  48,877
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  48,091

Largest nearby schools

• PRIOR LAKE HIGH SCHOOL
  High · SAVAGE · 2,857 students · 21.5:1 ratio
• Shakopee High School
  High · SHAKOPEE · 2,770 students · 21.1:1 ratio
• Prior Lake-Savage Middle School
  Middle · PRIOR LAKE · 1,987 students · 19.3:1 ratio
• Shakopee West Middle School
  Middle · SHAKOPEE · 895 students · 18.6:1 ratio
• Shakopee East Middle School
  Middle · SHAKOPEE · 796 students · 18.1:1 ratio
• JACKSON ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · SHAKOPEE · 749 students · 14.4:1 ratio
• ASPEN ACADEMY
  Elementary · SAVAGE · 647 students · 19:1 ratio
• EAGLE CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
  Elementary · SHAKOPEE · 643 students · 13.1:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2017-04-25
  Near Mankato, Minnesota